One of the best Sugar Magnolias I have ever seen. And I saw a lot...

Not outstanding, but well played, no glaring errors and a nice set list. Worth a listen.

speed correction no issue here -- may be just a slight touch off, but not enough to detract from a stellar show with ever band member kicking ass all the way through as energy builds throughout show. perhaps '81 my fav year b/c i saw most of my shows then -- but the GD were on fire the whole year and '80-'82 more generally.

This is a fine second set, but this recording has not had the speed corrected and thus the pitch is high and speed not accurate ie way fast...way fast!. I will seek another recording. Probably an audience recording for this show is best as the band really seemed to be " playing the room" in terms of the reverb in the facility itself. The Scarlet fire represents this very well with Phil really working the sonic dynamics of the Colosseum with EPIC results. BUT...not this recording. Someone please correct the pitch.

I was at this show - 16 years old. flew out to see my bro at CU - he scored us 2nd row seats. Arrived at the venue tripping widely - each of us with a full dearing of blow in our back pockets... band came out and was just so powerful.. way intense. Had issues dancing.. the security couldn't handle us... finally had to go to the arena seats to dance.

This recording conveys how good it was...Stranger / Jack-a-roe / High Time the following evening... a dream come true for this young kid...

I returned to Boulder two weeks ago with my kid to see Dead and Co at Folsom Field... wow!!

Boulder will always hold dear memories for me !!

nice sounding SBD, especially for 81. fat bass, good drums, ride cymbals etc vocals not too up front

phil mysteriously falls out of the mix at estimated/ terp similar to other SBD's of the period

Are there two more oddly juxtaposed songs than Feel Like a Stranger and They Love Each Other?
What a weird combination.

Good.

Good sound.. A little trebly and high ends up..get's distorted when you turn it up..which I always like to do! The boys were having at a mile "HIGH" Nice set list with solid playing through out..so please..GIVE IT A WHIRL>Forever Grateful>Forever Dead!!!! 3.5er

Wow...killer TLEO..mellow keyboards..Jerry scorching at 5:00

Great setlist
inspired playing
good fidelity for 81

check out 7-4-81

I am listening to the first set and had to get up and dance around my computer room. This first set is crackling with energy. I lived in Boulder in the early 90's (great period to be there)and heard this show was hot from some old timers but I had no idea how hot. The Stranger is funky with Phil finding his chops right away and Brent adding an other-worldliness to the jam. The sound is nice not flat like most 81 boards. You can actually hear Bobby and Phil!Jack a Roe and BIODTL are also tight and Roses has a nice dynamic.

The first set goes well until the disco Jack-a-Row (similar to the disco Berthas of 1977), but there’s a good recovery with a lively, quick-paced Beat It Down the Line. Roses is lovely. And there’s a sweet jam at the end of Scarlet.

A lot of the tempos are fast (maybe too fast some people’s taste), including Deal, Fire, Estimated and others. Jerry does a nice job on all.
Well, almost all. Jerry flubs the lyrics on Terrapin throughout, not just a word here and there, but with long stretches of silence. The band seems to lose its place a few times as well. The jam after Terrapin gets going after a while and is pretty compelling. Also a nice jam out of drums into NFA, where Jerry goes to town.

Jerry makes up for Terrapin with an expressive vocal on Black Peter, which has good performances from the whole band. A show highlight.

Reading the reviews, I just want to comment that if you listen to it using WMP, iTunes or one of the other players and set the EQ w/a low mid-range dip/high mid-range swale (the standard pop/rock sine wave) it cleans right up. There's still a bit of rip in the high end -- you can't get rid of that, as it's an artifact of oversaturation on the source or one of the subsequent generations -- but it's definitely worth it.

I agree w/all about the performance & energy...great '81 show -- tight, on, excellent selection and Phil sounds particularly crunchy. Excellent!

I agree with capn doubledose. Jer just lets loose some great raunchy riffs at the end making this one of my fav versions. 5 Stars.

Kids. Believe I made this show....BIG rainbow stretched acroos the Colorado sky just before curtain time? Anbody? Oh, and what a spectacular Rocky Mountian Highpoint show....from dawn 'til dusk.

great energy, hot, shot show...what a Sugar Mags as well...

I find myself agreeing with brendanmcauley on the sound quality issue. It's a good show, but doesn't sound as consistently good as other SBDs. Five for the music, two for the inconsistent sound earns it a 3.5, which I'll round up to a four.

I had to come in here and post a review after I was perusing my 1981 collection, trying to find the gems I am fortunate enough to have now, just so I could tell you all how hot the Deal from this show is. Capn Doubledose has already beat me to it with his review but that wasn't going to stop me from giving a big fat endorsement for this show. Yeah, the sound is not stellar...but it's pretty close...but the show is a ten. Get it if you haven't yet. This is an outstanding representation of what the Dead were doing in '81.
My rating is for the performance, the mix is only a halfstar below that.

Let me start out by saying that the sound quality is not that great however this is a wonderful show. Jack A Roe, CC Rider (***), Althea (listen to Jer rip this one up), LL Rain (one of the best ever if not the best) - Then have a good listen to that Deal and I invite others to see if they can find a better one, I am sure one is out there but man does that smoke++ then an absolutely ripping Scarlet>Fire. I am having trouble giving this anything but what it deserves.

As an aside, I was in Denver for this and we planned to hitch in from Pitkin County for this show. 1981 does not get alot of love but some of my favorite shows happened around this time Dayton, Lehigh, New Years Eve, Melkweg, and now hearing this for the first time will have to add this to the list. Some of you may not agree with a 5 for this but listen to this carefully this is a very hot show.

This show has all the making of a great sbd copy, however the bass is a little over mixed or something. The sounds of the drums and guitars is turned up on all fronts and creates an occassional distortion in the tape. That being said I downloaded this and its a great show to enjoy.

The intro on scarlet is the hot yet somewhat rough intro. The guitars sound heavy metalic, if you will, causing a really hard rock intro for what is being played as a soft 'reagea-esque tune"

I hate to be critical its a great show- get it- but it is nto the kind sbd you seek, just a sweet bootleg mixed a little high in the bass.

Enjoy this one its good!